Thursday, February 7, 2013

Sofi's Birth Story Part 2

Let me just say that the only reason that this birth story is in parts is that I have ADD. I couldn't sit for long enough the last time to write out the whole thing. I think this may be the last part, but if my ADD kicks in, there may be a part three (EDIT: I've come back to this post three times and have yet to get through it!).

So, after making the decision that I was going to have a C-Section, obviously, I questioned it a million times. Over that weekend, Joa and I talked about it until we were both blue in the face, even though I knew in my heart it was the right thing. My mom got into town that weekend, which was wonderful to have both moms with us. I had one more doctor's appointment on that Tuesday, which was still a bit emotional, but reaffirming that my decision was the right one.

On Tuesday night we had a delicious, gluttonous dinner of burgers, fries and milkshakes at Hopdoddy in Preston Center (I highly recommend)! At home we took tons of photos with the belly and then went to bed. I slept so well - I really felt so at peace with what was going to go down the next day. The alarm went off at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, December 19, so that we could be at the hospital by 5:30. Joaquin and I were in one car while the other moms were in the other one. On our way to the hospital Joa and I talked about how these were the last moments as just the two of us and how craaaaaazy that was. We were going from family of two to family of three in a matter of hours.

One of the last shots of the belly.

Once we checked into the Labor and Delivery floor, things went pretty quickly! They asked me to change and I failed to understand that changing was the beginning of the whole process. I walked out in the ugly hospital gown with my Toms on and the woman asked me to take them off. I said, "Well, I don't want to walk on the floor without any shoes." She smiled knowingly and said, "You won't be walking anywhere for quite a while. You'll go to the operating room from here in a bit." Oh, DUH. The nurse strapped on a monitor for Sofi (she was going crazy! The nurse kept laughing at how much she was moving), I got my IV put in, some blood taken and then our funny anesthesiologist came into the room. He was one of those guys who is obviously super smart but has some interesting social skills. As the medication started kicking in, I kept poking myself in the areas that were getting numb. At one point, I was poking my belly pretty hard and Joa had to stop me because I didn't realize what I was doing.

Unfortunately, I had an adverse reaction to the epidural and right as they started wheeling me to the operating room, I started to throw up and dry heaving and it continued for a bit in the operating room. The anesthesiologist played with my meds, trying to make the nausea go away at which point the shakes kicked in. Joa came in at that point and sat by me trying to keep me calm. Our anesthesiologist tech was a-ma-zing Through the entire process, he told me what was going on, told me what a great job I was doing and was just overall a really calming person to have in the room. I am very grateful that he was there. All I could focus on was how badly I was shaking for the most part, until, the moment that I heard Sofia cry. Oh that moment, it will forever remain in my heart. I started crying and telling Joa, "She's here! That's our daughter!" It was so surreal. I couldn't believe that the baby I carried around in my belly for 40 weeks was out in the world. The doctor brought her over so I could see - she was crying and full of blood and all that white stuff that babies come out into the world in. Joa had the camera with him and I urged him to go over to where they were cleaning her off and take photos. And so, our sweet Sofía Isabel was born on 12/19/12, weighing 8 lbs 13 oz (nowhere near 11 lbs!), and measuring 21 inches in length. She had a full head of hair and the doctor and Joa said she came out with her eyes wide open, which isn't hard to believe because she continues to keep those eyes wide open and take in everything around her.

The first time I saw my daughter!

Our first family photo

Skin to skin! Oh, those sweet moments.

We stayed in the hospital for three nights - three very long nights. Sofi lost a little more than 10 percent of her birth weight while we were in the hospital because my milk was stubborn and wouldn't come in. We had to have a very emotional talk with the pediatrician about giving her formula since she wasn't getting what she needed from me. This was another instance that I had to relinquish all control and give it to God because I was not planning on giving Sofía a bottle with formula in it until many months down the road. Of course, the bottom line was that my baby needed nutrition and I wasn't going to deny her that because it wasn't in my plan. So, though I continued to breast feed, I supplemented with a few ounces of formula until my milk came in (on the sixth day, mind you). If you think your boobs get big while you are pregnant, wait until those suckers fill up with milk. I was walking around with two basketballs on my chest that were hard as rocks. Oh the things nobody tells you about your post-partem body!

Headed home!

Though my body was wonkified, I can't express how wonderful it was to be in my own home. It made such a huge difference to be in my own bed and not having a nurse come in every two hours to poke and prod me. As long as all is well for the next baby, I will be requesting to go home ASAP!

I'm seven weeks old. Snap.

I can't believe it has already been seven weeks since that day. All those cliches about how children grow up in the blink of an eye and how times goes by so quickly - they are heartbreakingly true. And surprisingly, even though I spent 18 weeks nauseated, I miss being pregnant! Maybe it is the hormones, but I'm ready for baby number two! That story to come later - much, much later.